Ballad of the Dying Man – English Lyrics

• By: Father John Misty
• Album: Pure Comedy

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the English language through the witty and poignant lyrics of Father John Misty's “Ballad of the Dying Man.” This song offers a great opportunity to learn sophisticated vocabulary and understand satirical commentary on modern society. Its clever wordplay and philosophical musings make it a special and thought-provoking piece for language learners.

[English]

♫ Naturally the dying man wonders to himself

♫ His commentary been more lucid than anybody else

♫ And had he successfully beaten back the rising tide

♫ Of idiots, dilettantes and fools

♫ Were on his watch while he was alive

♫ Lord, just a little more time

♫ Oh, in no time at all

♫ This will be the distant past

♫ Ooh

♫ So says the dying man once I’m in the box

♫ Just think of all the overrated hacks running amok

♫ And all of the pretentious

♫ Ignorant voices that will go unchecked

♫ The homophobes, hipsters and 1%

♫ The false feminists he’d managed to detect

♫ Oh, who will critique them once he’s left

♫ Oh, in no time at all

♫ This will be the distant past

♫ What he’d give for one more day to rate and analyze

♫ The world made in his image as of yet to realize

♫ What a mess

♫ To leave behind

♫ Eventually the dying man takes his final breath

♫ But first checks his newsfeed

♫ To see what he’s about to miss

♫ It occurs to him a little late in the game

♫ We leave as clueless as we came

♫ From the rented heavens to the shadows in the cave

♫ We’ll all be wrong someday

♫ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

♫ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

♫ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

♫ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

♫ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

♫ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

♫ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
dying /ˈdaɪ.ɪŋ/ B2	adjective - approaching death noun - the act of dying
man /mæn/ A1	noun - an adult male human
commentary /ˈkɒm.ən.tər.i/ C1	noun - a series of remarks or observations
lucid /ˈluː.sɪd/ C1	adjective - expressed clearly; easy to understand
rising /ˈraɪ.zɪŋ/ B2	verb - to move upward; to increase adjective - going upward or increasing
tide /taɪd/ B2	noun - the periodic rise and fall of the sea level
idiots /ˈɪd.i.əts/ B1	noun - people who act unintelligently
dilettantes /ˌdɪ.ləˈtɑːn.tiːz/ C2	noun - people who cultivate an art or area of knowledge only for amusement and without real commitment
pretentious /prɪˈten.ʃəs/ C1	adjective - trying to appear more important or valuable than one really is
ignorant /ˈɪɡ.nər.ənt/ B2	adjective - lacking knowledge or awareness in general
homophobes /hoʊˈmoʊ.foʊb/ C1	noun - people who fear or dislike homosexuals
hipsters /ˈhɪp.stɚz/ C1	noun - people who adopt trendy styles and unconventional attitudes
feminists /ˈfɛm.ɪ.nɪsts/ B2	noun - advocates of women's rights on the basis of equality of the sexes
critique /krɪˈtik/ C1	verb - to evaluate in a detailed and analytical way noun - a detailed analysis and assessment
analyze /ˈæn.əl.aɪz/ B2	verb - to examine methodically by separating into parts
world /wɜːrld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries and peoples
image /ˈɪm.ɪdʒ/ B1	noun - a visual representation of a person or thing verb - to make a visual representation of something
mess /mes/ A2	noun - a state of disorder or untidiness
breath /breθ/ A1	noun - the air taken in or expelled from the lungs
newsfeed /ˈnjuːz.fiːd/ C1	noun - a continuously updating list of news items, often on a website or app

Key Grammar Structures

• Naturally the dying man wonders to himself

  ➔ Reflexive pronoun (to himself)

  ➔ The reflexive pronoun 'himself' shows the subject and object are the same person.

• Had he successfully beaten back the rising tide

  ➔ Inverted past perfect (Had he beaten...)

  ➔ Inversion omits 'if' and places 'had' before the subject to form a conditional or hypothetical tone.

• Lord, just a little more time

  ➔ Elliptical sentence (omission of subject and verb)

  ➔ This line omits the implied verbs like 'give me' for emotional emphasis and poetic rhythm.

• This will be the distant past

  ➔ Future with 'will be'

  ➔ Uses 'will be' to talk about something that will happen or exist in the future.

• Just think of all the overrated hacks running amok

  ➔ Participle clause (running amok)

  ➔ The present participle 'running' describes what the 'hacks' are doing simultaneously.

• What he’d give for one more day to rate and analyze

  ➔ Subjunctive/Ironic conditional (What he’d give...)

  ➔ 'He’d give' implies a hypothetical wish, not an actual event.

• We leave as clueless as we came

  ➔ Comparative structure with 'as...as'

  ➔ Uses 'as...as' to express equality in the level of being clueless when arriving and leaving.

• From the rented heavens to the shadows in the cave

  ➔ Prepositional phrase (From...to...)

  ➔ The pair 'from...to...' shows range or contrast between two extremes or ideas.